


A soul to save

by hiimnew



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Child Abuse, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Hurt Tony Stark, Protective Nick Fury, Spirit Animals, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Triggers, avengers are kids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-17
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-10-11 21:56:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17454983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiimnew/pseuds/hiimnew
Summary: Tony is dropped off at SHIELD headquarters in an attempt to save him from his abusive father after losing his mother a few years ago in a car crash. He's a difficult child but Fury takes him in anyway. One day and Howard is back on the streets in search of his son whose be left to Phil with no notice and no information. Howard's men find him a week later and that's where things really begin.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not good at this but this one just seems to be doing okay I think?

Fury stared at the young boy in one of the chairs lining the hall way hugging a duffel bag to his chest as he stared at his shoes which were bouncing softly off each other. He came in late last night or very early this morning from a concerned family member who managed to rescue the boy from his father who has been abusing the boy for as long as he could walk. The man was the families butler who had been looking after the boy after his mother was killed in a car crash a few years ago but as a butler he could not defend the boy instead he took care of him and his injuries. Fury had thought about taking the boy to child services or a foster family but as quiet and shut down he is anyone who gets to close gets attacked verbally or physically until they leave him alone. One last look down at the file in his hand and a heavy sigh Fury approaches the boy before he squats down in front of him being careful of how close he is to the boys feet which could kick him at any moment and looks the boy in his eyes waiting until they met his own. The boy in front of him was short for his age and had a feminine figure hidden under his clothes, sun kissed skin dotted in freckles and bruises, big brawny doe eyes under thick lashes, short styled dark brown curls; he's dressed in tight blue jeans with red converse sneaker, and a loose white shirt under a black oversize hoodie.

"Hey kid. Wanna come home with me?" Fury asks him his deep voice somehow came out gentle and warm

"....." The kid considers it before a short quick nod 

"Sounds good. Come on, my trucks this way" Fury says standing and walking in the way of the garage

A glance behind him shows him that the kid is following him quickly, almost on his heels but his head is down and his knuckles are white as he grips the straps of his bag that's hugged close against his chest almost as big as he is. After crossing the under ground garage Fury stops next to a big black SUV and opens the back door letting the kid hop in the back seat before he closes the door and climbs in the drivers side and starts the engine as he buckles his own belt. Fury lives outside city limits in a small town house with a big yard surrounded by fields and forest, so the drive is long and quiet with Fury glancing at the kid in his backseat whose looking out his window in concealed wonder but is otherwise calm. From the back seat Tony took in the man who had decided to take him in despite seeing what he had done to the others who had tried to trick him and get too close. He's a tall man with dark skin and a lot of muscle, he has a bald head and brown eyes or at least one brown eye since the other is hidden under an eye patch making him look like a scary pirate who wears a lot of leather and never changes his stone face, he's wearing black combat boots with black cargo pants tucked in, a black shirt under his black leather trench coat. When drives up the gravel drive way Tony takes the chance to look at the house where he'll be for at least tonight at the very least before the man decides to get rid of him too. The house is nice, it's a dark grey with stone features with a lush green law surrounded by fields a forest where he spots a deer peeking out from behind the tree line.

Tony follows the man inside and similar to the outside the inside looks the same with black leather furniture and appliances, most of the floors are a dark red color but there is a few spots with carpet. Tony goes up to the room where the man said he could stay and sets his bag down on the small bed and looks out his window to the back yard where he sees a small pool and lawn furniture before he turns around the small room and sits down on the bed next to his bag. He slumps to the side following down onto the plush blankets while his head lands on the soft pillows at the top of the bed and thinks about how he had gotten here in the first place. At sixteen he's been to hell and back and no he had been abandoned by someone he thought he could trust, he thought he and Jarvis would run away from Howard and live together as a happy family after mama passed away but instead he dropped Tony off at SHIELD and left without looking back. Tony would have cried but he lost that ability along time ago among other things that Howard didn't like about him which was pretty much everything about him. Tony doesn't unpack his bag instead pushes it onto the floor in front of the bed before he crawls under the blanket kicking off his shoes and pushing them off the bed and closes his eyes. It's dark out when Fury goes to check on the boy and finds him asleep in the bed, he backs out slowly and shuts the door quietly before he heads to his own room kicking off his boots and jacket. After changing into sleep clothes Fury sits at his desk and opens the file on the kid skimming through noting the injuries another officer cataloged when the boy was first dropped off at the station, there were paper notes and pictures. 

Injuries: split lip, bruised left temple, cut on right cheek bone stitched up, bruised collar bone, scratches along left forearm, bruising to both biceps, bruising to torso, boot prints on back, bruise to left hip, cut on left thigh stitches up, bruising on right ankle, scratches on left shin. 

After an hour of going through the file and other work related things Fury heads to bed turning off the lights on his way, in bed he falls asleep quickly. Two thirty am Tony wakes up in a silent panic breathing heavily and drenched in sweat, a quick scan of the room helps him calm down and collect himself. Knowing he won't sleep again Tony gets up and quietly explores the house making sure not to wake the man or look at his room, when he enters the open kitchen/ dining room Tony notices the floor to ceiling sliding glass doors which showed him the moon lit yard. Tony is fascinated by the sight as he draws closer to the glass to peer outside, back home he wasn't allowed outside and the view outside his windows weren't like this either. The glass is cold under his finger tips when he touches it hesitantly unsure if it is okay to do so but Fury was asleep upstairs and he was alone so if no-one knows what harm could it do. After a few tense moments Tony relaxes only to jump when something soft brushes against his legs scaring the day lights out of him as he jumps and turns to look at what had touched him, to his surprise it's a freaking panther. After a few beats of tense silence Tony lets out a breath and reaches out to touch the wolf only as soon as his hand touches soft silk fur the panther disappears breaking off into white lights like shattered glass flying through the air before it disappears. Stunned Tony stares wide eyed at the spot before turning his hand sky wards and looks at it knowing he touched it but somehow it still vanished like magic under his finger tips. Still in shock Tony quietly returns to the bedroom and sits down on the bed in the dark as he slowly pulls out his phone and opens google typing in what this could possibly mean, he finds an answer but he's not sure he wanted to know because this was crazy. 

So people had spirit animals who were real only spirits that guide and protect the people whose soul is connected to theirs, they are like magic living breathing magic beast. They have powers, can fight, teach and so on but how did he not know about this stuff and why had it never shown up before. The next thought scared Tony to his core, that meant everyone had one so how did Howard hide this all from him, even if he was locked in the mansion he still had internet so how did he not know. Trying not to panic Tony looks up spirit panthers to learn more about about this spirit attached to his soul that he has just met and he was surprised by what he finds and somehow can't believe this is happening but somehow it fits. Panthers: astral travel, guardian energy, symbol of the feminine, death and rebirth, understanding death, reclaiming your power, ability to know the dark,aggressiveness and power. Panthers are comfortable keeping to themselves and find themselves connecting with other solitary individuals. Panther listens closely, but only shares just enough information to keep curious minds content. Often panther will enter you life to help you awaken your inner passions, unbridled expressions and tap into suppressed talents. It is a signal to reclaim your power often after a period of pain, suffering and death on some level. This could mean that an old issue may finally be resolving, old wounds may begin to heal. Once this healing takes place, reclaiming your power is possible. Just as the feminine, the panther has acute sensitivity. The hairs on their body allows them to pick up subtitle vibrations. This is important as it indicates the need to pay attention to feelings and the messages that arise from these feelings. Touch is significant to your path to help awaken your concealed gifts. 

The next morning Tony is shocked to wake up since he didn't even remember falling asleep in the first place, the first thing he notices is the light streaming through the crack in curtains and the second is the smell of food being cooked downstairs. Tony blinks and sits up his head filled with cotton as he digs through his bag for new clothes pulling out a pair of dark tight jeans, a red long sleeve and a maroon oversize pull over hoodie. After setting them on the bed Tony peels off the clothes he's wearing and pulls on his jeans before glancing up at the full length mirror across the room and instead of his reflection looking back at him sat a white panther bigger than normal with pale turquoise eyes that stared deep into his own.

"AHHHHHHH!!!" Tony screams clutching his shirt to his chest as he stumbles back and fall on his ass back against the wall

"What!?" Fury yells rushing into Tony's room with his gun drawn looking around for an intruder

"M-m-mirror" Tony says pointing to the mirror with a shaky hand

"Mirror? You alright kid?" Fury asks after seeing Tony's reflection in the mirror

"Yeah. I'm fine" Tony says trying not to let his voice shake

"Alright, breakfast is in ten" Fury says before leaving closing the room door behind him

Tony doesn't move from his spot on the floor instead shakily puts on his shirt and sweater all the while watching the mirror with a weary glare and sure enough when his head popped out of his sweater it was no longer his reflection staring back at him instead stared the white panther with pale turquoise eyes. Tony held his breath with wide eyes as the Panther stood and slowly walked out of the mirror towards him and behind it the mirror was blank neither reflected in it. Tony holds his breath as he squeezes his eyes shut as the cat approaches him stepping into his space and leans it forehead against his own, the cats soft warm breath ghosted his skin as its soft fur touches his skin letting him feel the warmth it was transmitting. Imara is the name spoken in his head, her voice is soft and warm like that of a mother talking to her child and he feels their souls connect entwining with each other like one soul split in two becoming whole again. It steals Tony's breath away before it's finished in the blink of an eye and slowly with caution Tony open his eyes confronted by her face in his, her eyes are shut softly and she's giving off a small humming sound. Ever so slowly Tony brings up a hand to touch the soft fur on her cheek and gasps in astonishment when she leans into his hand and slowly his other hand joins the other side of her face and both slide slowly down until he's hugging her neck with his face pressed into her chest. 

Fury's voice breaks the moment and Tony gets up and leaves the room to join the man, his brain still conditioned from years of teachings by his father which overrides everything else. Tony sits opposite the man and stares at the plate in front of him which held a slice of toast, an egg and two stripes of bacon with a glass of orange juice beside it alongside a fork and knife. When Tony doesn't move Fury gestures for him to help himself and watches as Tony does so with hesitation unsure if it was really okay and as if waiting for Fury to tell him to stop like a bad joke but when He makes no move to do so Tony eats with a little more gusto. Fury finishes his food first and as he is putting his dishes in the dishwasher his phone rings so he leaves the room to answer it and Tony slows his eating in partial fear and partial interest in who was on the phone with his current care taker. After about maybe ten minutes of talking Fury suddenly starts shouting over the phone making Tony jump and his heart starts racing while his breath quickens it's pace when the shouting doesn't stop. When Fury comes back into the room he's dialing another number telling Tony to get his things they need to leave now to get him somewhere safer for the moment which has Tony bee lining for the room and zipping up his unpacked bag slinging it over his shoulder skipping stairs as he runs down them. Fury grabs his wrist pulling him out the front door and to the truck where he ushers Tony into the back seat watching the road until he's heading to the drivers seat and turning on the truck as he ends his call.

"Tony listen to me very carefully. Your father has escaped custody and seems to know where this house is. I'm taking you to someone I trust, another agent. He's in town but his house is full of other kids. They don't know who you are or why you are there and I need you to keep it that way okay?" Fury says looking in the rear view mirror to see Tony nod in understanding 

"Good. His name is Phil Coulson, he's going to watch you until I come back to get you. Alright?" Fury says as they enter city limits checking behind him to see Tony nod again

The rest of the ride is silent except for the police scanner that's on so Fury stays updated on the situation without being on his phone the whole time. Finally they reach a maybe a small mansion is the best way to describe it made of brick and stone with a small porch and stairs leading up them, it has a small front yard which has bikes and such strewn across the lawn among other toys. Fury parks the truck in the drive way next to another truck, a car and two motorcycles and gets out still oozing power as he slams the door making Tony flinch before Fury opens his door and Tony gets out. Tony is on Fury's heels on the verge of a panic attack but Fury's hand on the back of his neck while he knocks on the door is comforting in a strange way since usually this makes him scared but maybe it's because it's this man that makes it seem safe to him. The door opens and the sound of kids blares out behind the man who opened the door and is now standing in the door way with a small smile on his lips but he looks very serious. The man is tall like Fury but a little shorter and slimmer, he has pale skin really short pale blonde hair and blue eyes, he's wearing light blue jeans with a white white long sleeve, dark brown shoes and around his waist is tied a blue flannel shirt.

"Nick this is a surprise?" Phil says not expecting his boyfriend who looks angry 

"Guard him closely" Fury says before turning and leaving 

"Wait!" Tony cries dropping the bag on the porch and runs after Fury

"Tony we already agreed you'd stay here until I came back to get you" Fury says stopping at the truck

"Can't I come with you" Tony pleads gasping for breath

"No, now go inside" Fury says getting into the truck and driving off

"Don't leave me!" Tony screams hands clutching his chest

"Natasha, can you take this to the spare room?" Phil says handing the girl the bag

"Everything okay?" She asks they had all stopped when the kid ran after Nick

"I don't think so" Phil says walking onto the law

"Tony, right?" Phil asks giving the boy some space but is now in arms reach

"I'm sorry" Tony says turning to face the man

"It's alright. Why don't we go inside?" Phil says and leads the way back hoping the kid follows instead of running off

"I'm Phil by the way" Phil says once they are inside the house

"Fury told me" Tony says but he feels void of anything he probably looks like it to

"Then he's told you about the kids too?" Phil asks nodding to the group of teens in the living room on the chairs and couches

"He said you had other kids here too but that's it" Tony informs him 

"I see, well i'll let them introduce themselves then" Phil says with a smile trying to lift the mood a little but the boy was untouchable

Tony observes the other kids taking them in memorizing their appearances, names, animals and ages into his memory whether he wants to or not it's all information that can be used. First there is Natasha Romanov, 17, snake; She's taller than Tony with a slim curvy figure, pale skin and bright green eyes, long bright red curly hair and she's wearing black legging with a red sweater dress that has a spider design and a pair of black converse sneaker. Steve Rogers, 18, bear; he's about six foot and broad with pale skin and short blonde hair, baby blue eyes and he's wearing light blue jeans with a white tee and grey stripped hoodie with a pair of brown boots. Bruce Banner, 16, deer; He's a little taller than Tony but broader with pale skin, brown eyes and curly brown hair like a mop atop his head, he's wearing brown khaki pants with green converse shoes and a black long sleeve under a dark purple sweater. Clint Barton, 16, raccoon; he's similar to Bruce but instead has short spiked blonde hair and blue eyes, he's also deaf and wears hearing aids, he's wearing black cargo pants with a grey tee under a mustard hoodie and purple converse shoes. Finally there is James Barnes, 18, wolf; he's like Steve only with long brown hair and icy grey eyes, he has a metal left arm shoulder down and he's wearing black ripped jeans with black combat boots, a black long sleeve and a red hoodie.

"So who are you?" Clint asks curious as he leans forward in his seat

"...." Tony doesn't say anything instead looks at Phil 

"Um I think I need to call Nick" Phil says digging out his phone and dials his number

"Nick? Hi, so about the kid you just dropped off? Okay hold on, here" Phil says passing Tony the phone who takes it

"Understood. Here" Tony says passing back the phone

"Okay. You'd better. Bye" Phil says hanging up with a sigh

"So this is Tony, he's sixteen and he'll be here until Nick comes back to pick him up or someone else will come to get him" Phil says just as confused as the others in the room

"That's it?" Steve asks confused and maybe a little angry

"I don't know what's going ether but for the time being lets all try to get along" Phil says receiving nods from his kids

Phil shows Tony to his room before going back down stairs leaving Tony on his own who closes the door behind the man and gently locks it before backing away from it and turning to the window which is open. Tony shuts the window and locks before putting a poster boards over it and closes the curtains before he goes and turns on the room lights to scope out the room. The closet seems to be the safest option so tony makes a make shift bed in the closet where he also stashes his bag, he then moves the mirror so that he could watch the door from the closet floor during the night. Safely barracked in the room Tony sits on the closet make shift bed and waits, he listens to other kids and even the man but doesn't move since he was smart and stashed some food in the duffel bag which could sustain him for maybe a week. Sure enough despite Phil's attempts Tony's not left the room in a week his only company is his phone and Imara who has been beside him no longer hiding since no one will discover her in a locked room. Finally Friday rolls around and the house is quiet since everyone is watching a movie so Tony sneaks out of the room and slowly makes his way downstairs dressed in fresh clothes, a pair of dark tight jeans with brown timberland's and a army green tee. When he reaches the foyer the bell rings and Phil gets up to answer it so he sneaks back up the stairs part way and watches as he opens the door only to be bum rushed by two men in black with ear pieces, he falls with a grunt and the other kids stand on alert and then Tony spots the pin on their shirt collars.

"Target Spotted!" One shouts spotting Tony on the steps

"Get the kid" The second shouts 

"Surround the place" One says into his ear piece 

"Don't let him get away" The second continues 

Tony thinks fast and vaults the railing jumping onto cool tiles and sprints to the back door where he runs out into the fresh snow covered yard and keeps running until he vaults the fence while he looks back through his hair to see more men following chase. Tony lands in an alley in crouch and sprints into the maze of New York alleys dodging trash and boxes that line them encouraged by the shouts behind him and the sound of screeching tires. Tony takes a sharp left skidding around the corner bumping into someone but doesn't stop knowing the guards aren't far behind him and then jumps a fallen trash can and runs through traffic to another area of alley mazes. After what must be two hours Tony finally falls skidding across the ground wet and could from the snow, as he pushes up and hard stomp to his back stops his efforts as the man radios in. Tony is soon picked up off the ground his arms in the vice grips of two men, one to each side of him as the others surround them as a safety net while they wait for a car to come pick them up. Tony glares at them from under his bangs now stuck against his forehead covering his eyes, his breath comes out in puffs of smoke as he breaths hard too much adrenaline keeps the cold away but the thought of going home sends the first chill down his spine. When the car stops at the mouth of the alley Tony fights the men who drag him towards the car, kicking, punching anything but the men are bigger than him and there is more of them but he doesn't stop fighting not even when they throw him into the car with far too much force. Tony charges the door but it's slammed in his face and locked so he cant get away and barricaded so he cant reach the driver, Tony screams and kicks the glass window as the car takes off trying until the very end to get away. 

Tony breathes heavily pushed as far back in the seat as he can as he watches the mansion come into sight as big and terrifying as he remembers it to be. The gates open loudly in a clash of metal as car tires drive over gravel, the blizzard storms violently around him as the stone mansion bares it's ugly head. The lights inside glow in the dark around them as the stone prison grows with each passing breath until it looms over them the big metal doors seem to laugh darkly at him while the gargoyles hiss and cackle enjoying the view below him.


	2. Safe in her arms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tony is safe somewhat but his nightmare is over until it will rear it's ugly head again

Tony is thrown down on the polished entry way floor to stare back at his reflection aware that the two guards who dragged him from the car now stood behind him awaiting further instructions but Tony doesn't dare look but even as he hears footsteps approach him. The second two black polished leather shoes entered his vision field Tony knew it was all over for him now so when the end of a cane tips his head up he so he's sitting on bent knees with his head tipped up to face the man who caused all the pain he's ever known. The man who dares to call himself Tony's father stands before him looming with a dark smile on his face, so dark it's almost comforting and gentle but Tony knows its a lie, it's always a lie. Unlike Tony's he's fair skinned with a hint of a tan, dull brown eyes that hide the evil inside him, short salt and pepper hair styled back away from his face; he's wearing black business suit pants with an un-tucked white button up shirt, his tie loose around his neck and the top button undone. His sleeve are rolled up to his elbows, on his hands and wrist are a silver Rolex with two giant silver rings and of course his gold wedding band; The cane in his hand is a cherry wood with gold accents with a gold Wold head as the handle which was held by Howard's right hand.

"Welcome home boy" Howard said darkly as he grinned big 

That's the last thing Tony remembers when he wakes up in his own room feeling a dull pain radiate through his head starting at the left side and spanning across the rest of his head. A quick gentle touch revealed the spot had dried blood around most likely Howard had spun the cane around and used the wold head to strike Tony's left temple hard enough to pierce skin and knock him unconscious where he was probably dragged to his room by the guards or some poor staff member. Tony gets up pausing for a moment when the world spins around him before he makes his way down the halls of the mansion one hand on the wall to hold him steady as he makes his way to the living room area I guess you could call it that. He's not surprised to find that Howard has left the mansion for whatever reason and won't be back until later, though he does appreciate the cook who gave him something to eat before he goes to the back of the mansion where he finds one of the back doors. Tony looked around and with no-one in sight he grabs the handle and rattles it but no luck everything is locked up just like he remembered it to be. Once again trapped in his own house of horrors Tony manages to steal a knife from the kitchen unnoticed and slips it into his boot tucking it under his pant leg for later use if need be, but for now Tony heads back to his room and closes the door behind him. Alone in his room with the door closed Tony pulls out the knife and tries to unlock the window but it won't budge and Tony already knows the glass wont break nor will anything made of glass in this house. 

That night Tony waits with the knife hidden in his boot for his father to get home, so when he hears the doors open Tony takes a deep breath before he leaves meeting Howard on the steps to the living quarters but Tony had a glimpse of freedom which renewed his will to live and fight back. It took Howard years to break Tony the first time and now with a renewed will to live Howard would have to fast track his punishments in order to regain control faster, before someone comes to free the boy again so that way he won't dare speak out against Howard and would freely return home with him. Tony waits heart pounding while Howard moves past him throwing his jacket to a maid who quickly takes it and disappears from sight leaving the two men alone in the dim lit hallway lined with paintings and a few vases on pedestals. Tony closes his eyes for a moment before he opens them and turns to face Howard who stands a way down the hall legs a pair both hands on his can which he has in front of him. He wears the same grin He had the night Maria died in the car crash and the same smile he wore when broke Tony the first time when he was ten down in the main kitchen where he crucified Tony on the white tile floor and made his mark. The scars on Tony's hands burn where the knifes went through that pinned him to the floor and the scar on his side where Howard branded him with his own 'family crest' burned. Tony blinks and the spins and just as he's about the run a hand catches the back of his shirt collar and yanks him back choking him in the process before he's slammed into the floor hard enough to make his head smack with a nice sound, before he can draw in a breath a foot slams into his stomach kicking him hard enough he's lifted off the floor a bit and slammed into the wall. Tony coughs and glares at the man before him who only laughs and brings his foot down over and over in quick sessions of kicks and stomps to Tony's body who curls up defensively trying to protect himself.

After ten or so minutes Howard backs off taking a deep breath and runs a hand through his hair to get the fallen locks out of his face as he looks down at the bruised body of his son whose still curled up drawing in shaky breathes. Tony peers through his arms at the man above him and uses the few seconds between beatings to dash down the halls knocking over vases and pedestals behind him to slow down Howard who had dashed after him like a predator chasing it's prey. Which wasn't too far off at the moment so thinking quick Tony ducks around a corner and quickly pulls out the blade and holds it ready and in a few seconds he pounces knocking Howard over and quickly stabs the blade into the older Stark's shoulder and chest. Tony makes three stabs before he's thrown off and the blade falls away from both men, Howard is surprised but in a dangerous way so when he stands up Tony waits for blows to rain down but instead Howard walks away. Now alone in the hall Tony breathes out and relaxes a little as he sits up against a wall legs out in front of him, head back to touch the wall and tongue swipes across blood stained teeth in a moment of peace. Tony slowly makes his way back to his room where he closes and locks the door behind him before he pulls out a stashed water bottle which he uses to clean up his own blood off his bruised body staining the white pillow case a bright crimson. As clean as he can do at the moment Tony strips off the ruined clothes tossing them randomly on the floor while he digs out a pair of loose grey sweatpants and pulls them on.

Tony manages to sleep through the night but the pain might have had something to do with that and so when Tony wakes the next morning he grabs a fresh set of clothes and goes to shower finally able to roam free in his own home without having to fight for his own survival. Showered Tony pulls on the fresh set of sweatpants and a black tee after he puts on some cream for the bruises and takes too many pain pills but it's nothing new to him. Tony spends the day crafting a new weapon to defend himself with this time it's something similar to brass knuckles he's made out heavy rings and then ducks into a hiding hole to wait out already planned out a battle field where Howard would be on the disadvantage. Tony waits until Howard enters the hall and waits until he's passes before sliding out of his hiding spot and moves quietly behind his father until he makes his move sending a strong punch to the back of the mans head only to be stopped when Howard spins blocking the punch with his cane. The two men glare at each other half a second later Tony kicks Howard managing to separate them enough for them both have time to get into position and after a brief fight the winner is shown as Howard walks away swinging his can around whistling a tune as Tony lays crumpled on the ground.

It takes Tony a few minutes before he's able to pick up his crumpled body and limp slowly and painfully down the halls to his room not even bothering to lock the door or even shut it instead he sags into the comfort of his soft bed and passes out where nightmares torment him all night. It's early Monday when Tony is woken up by a timid maid who shakily hands him a set of clothes and leads him to the bathroom supporting him by letting him put his arm around her shoulders as they walk. She helps him sit on the toilet lid before leaves the clothes on the counter and shuts the door behind her and slowly Tony manages to strip off his clothes and gets under the spray of water in the shower to numb to feel the pain as he watches red water swirl down the drain. Dried off Tony painstakingly pulls on a pair dark tight jeans his brown timberland shoes, a grey long sleeve shirt a size too big and a black short parka with a light brown fur rimmed to the hood. Changed Tony steps into the hall and is escorted to the front doors by four men, one to each side of him and one behind him while the other leads them down to where Howard is waiting for him. Howard looks unscratched in his black pinstriped suit, black dress boots and a grey cashmere trench coat, his cane under hand as he waits for them while he checks his phone uninterested in his own son knowing he can't escape and won't try to anymore.

Once Tony is standing in front of Howard they are led outside to a winter wonderland where men in black with black vehicles wait for them a stark contrast to the winter snow that's covering everything in sight. Tony notices the suitcases being loaded into the cars and the flight tickets sticking out of Howard's pocket which meant Howard was fleeing the country and taking Tony with him. When they reach the car a man opens the back seat door as a swarm of cars with flashing lights and sirens skid to a stop next to the other cars and people climb out dressed in tactical gear with their guns drawn. Tony is too tired to think and besides he can't do much let alone want to so Tony waits beside his father and his men in a bit of a daze letting the cool air numb the pain which feels so good right now. 

Fury gets out of the truck and searches through the sea of men to find Tony only to find him slightly hidden behind Howard who is obviously planning on fleeing the country with the poor boy who looks like the walking day. Tony is moving sluggishly almost like he's drugged and while he's mostly covered by clothes Fury can see more than he wants to showing the living hell Tony has been living for the last two days alone. Fury can see Tony has three fingers tapped most likely broken, bruises and red knuckles on his hands and wrists, He has hand shaped bruises on his neck while other sink down under his clothes, he's walking with a limp. Tony's face is almost fully covered in bruises and scratches like he went a couple rounds with a pro boxer and while his eyes aren't swallow shut one is blood shot and the other has swelling around it even if it's just a little. 

"Anthony get in the car" Howard says glaring at Fury and watches as two men help Tony into the car making sure he won't run or fight

"Howard Stark your under arrest. Surrender quietly and we won't have any problems." Fury says as his agents make quick work of the billionaires hired men

"My son and I have a plane to catch" Howard says as if he wasn't fleeing the country

"No, the only thing your going to catch is a lengthy jail sentence and you will never see your son again" Fury says moving closer to the car

"We'll see about that" Howard says giving up not wanting to fight this many people knowing he's on the losing side

"Take him away" Fury says as two agents come and cuff the man before putting him in the back of one of their trucks

"Tony?" Fury says as he bend down to look into the car where the boy is slumped against the seats

"What?" Tony growls or tries to it's rough re-opening the split lip he's sporting

"Wanna come home with me?" Fury asks flashing back to the first time he asked the kid this question

"Sure" Tony says as his eyes slip close and his breathing evens out to a slow easy pace

"You did good kid" Fury says picking up the kid bridal style and carrying him to his own truck 

With Tony safely in his Truck Fury leaves the clean up to another agent and takes the kid to the hospital where they says he'll be fine with rest and time. They clean him up, attend to his injuries before they re-dress him and hand him back over to Fury with some prescriptions that will help the healing process. After the hospital Fury drives to a pharmacy where he gets the prescriptions which included something for a fever that Tony was now showing and seemed to be climbing by the hour as his body heats up and his breath comes out in puff of smoke. Tony is sleeping in the back of the car when Fury drives to Phil's house to pick up Tony's bag but when he stops the truck in the drive way Tony is somewhat awake. Tony looks around blearily and then focuses on Fury whose unbuckling his belt to get out of the truck, when he does Tony watches him come to his door and open it where Tony can see the tiredness and relief on his face when the man looks at him. Tony grumbles and tries to move his head when he feels Fury's cold hand touch his hot skin as he checks the fever to see that's climbed higher again, after a few seconds though Tony leans into the cold hand against the side of his throat reveling in the cold touch. Fury is distracted when he hears the door to the house open and see Phil come out of the house worried as he quickly crosses the lawn towards the truck where he gasps in guilt at the sight of Tony in the truck.

"Nick i'm so so sorry" Phil said distressed as he looks at the sleeping boy

"Hey, I should have warned you better. I didn't think that bastard would look outside of me and the organization involved directly with him" Fury tells him which was true

"I should have done more" Phil says shaking his head upset

"Not your fault Phil. Why don't you come by in a few days?" Fury says closing the truck door so they could continue to talk

"I- Yeah okay, i'll go get his bag for you" Phil says walking back to the house

"Thanks. Think about bringing the kids with you" Fury says as he waits in the doorway as Phil heads up stairs

"Maybe" Phil says after coming back downstairs with Tony's bag in hand

Fury takes the bag and heads back to the truck just as the other kids arrive home from going out, they look at him with curiosity and even more so when they see how upset Phil is although he's tough so it's like an internal battle going on inside the mans mind. When they get in Phil tells them that Tony has been found is back in Fury's custody which they think is good news so they ask him why he's so upset and Phil debates this for a moment. Phil decides to them that Tony is hurt and not feeling well which they believed to a point but it must be worse than he's letting on but they let it slide for now or at least until dinner that night when Bruce asks if he or they could go visit him. Despite not knowing the boy Bruce felt a connection and wanted to see the boy again, he wanted to befriend the boy and it seemed while on a much smaller scale the others did too. Being honest Phil says he doesn't think it's a good idea but he is going in a couple days to go see them boy but he doesn't think the other kids should come with him which doesn't sit well with the kids and becomes a seed in their minds that grows and bothers them all night long and into the next day.

Fury drives home and carries Tony inside first settling him on the couch while he went back for the rest of the stuff which he puts in Tony's room or at least most of it the prescriptions went to the kitchen where he got the first of the doses ready along side a glass of water which he gives to Tony after waking him up first. Tony takes the medicine Fury gives him and lets Fury help him upstairs to his room where he leaves Tony with a lamp on and extra blankets, once the door is closed Tony slowly and painfully peels off his clothes and shoes so he can get into a loose pair of black joggers and an over sized white long sleeve top. Changed Tony climbs under the covers and nests deep in the warm soft bed in a place he was safe where someone wanted him and cared for him, as he begins to drift off he feels a weight settle on the bed and it's like someone has put a heater on his back. A slow barley open eyed glance behind him reveals a pair of pale turquoise eyes surrounded by white so Tony settles back into the Imara on his back one paw over his chest and her head on his shoulder soft fur brushes against his hot sweaty skin and the sound of her purrs sends him into a dreamless sleep.

Later that night long after the sky got dark and the stars shone bright Fury checks into Tony's room wearing only a pair of loose grey sweatpants his own spirit animal a black lion named Atreus on his heels, Fury nudges open the door and is a little surprised to find a white panther cuddling the sleeping boy. Her tail gently thumps along his legs as she helps him sleep a comfort like no other, her eyes open as she stares at the man who saved her soul twice now and his own soul shadow as they peer into the child's room. A quick nod and barley a smile Fury closes the door to the room and heads to his own where he climbs into bed as his soul shadow curls up against him with it's own gentles and hums of peace help the man drift off.

That night souls shadows around the world felt a peace in the fates as they felt the calm settle over the earth while they snuggled up against their souls sharing a bond like no other, a warmth they both needed and how the world slept that night. Imara watches as her soul sleeps on with a hint of a smile on his lips as he soaks in her love and protection. Her beautiful soul safe and cared for after so long of being alone and in pain she feels something stir in her chest as she nuzzles him gently, her hums vibrate through to the boy but it only seems to help him sleep more which is all she asks for now. Imara soon drifts off herself feeling whole and complete as love pours out her heart and into this boy she has waited an eternity to meet who now sleeps in her arms.


	3. He's getting better

When Tony wakes up next it's just after lunch and everything hurts, he feels gross and just gross altogether but still he manages to sit up despite the way it makes his head spin and the pain which tells him to stop. Beside his bed is a glass of ice water with a couple small pills around it and a note, Tony slowly reaches over and picks up the pills and water which he takes both of greedily drinking down the cool liquid which soothes his throat. The note reads 'TONY LEFT TO GO GET GROCERIES. LEFT SOMETHING FOR YOU TO EAT DOWN STAIRS WITH A NOTE. SHOWER AND CHANGE YOUR CLOTHES BEFORE YOU MAKE YOUR FEVER WORSE. COOL PACKS IN FREEZER. BACK IN A WHILE CALL ME IF YOU NEED ME. XXX-XXX-XXXX' Tony sets the note down and digs through the bag until he finds a pair of baggy grey sweatpants,a red tee and a giant black hoodie. Clothes in hand Tony gets up without trying to fall over Imara appears beside him like a fog that rolls in, he leans against her as they walk to the bathroom down the hall to the left of his room. Inside the bathroom Tony sets the clothes down on the counter and turns on the water to run warm while he undresses, after removing his shirt Tony glances at the white panther but she's curled up by the door with her eyes closed and head resting on her paws. Tony finishes undressing and steps into the hot water letting it wash away the sweat and grime on his body, hissing occasionally when the water hits a sore spot and luckily Fury wrapped his hand in plastic because Tony forgot about the broken fingers in splints. After almost an hour Tony steps out and dries off before tying the towel around his waist and sits down on the floor all his energy drained and he feels like he's going to pass out, with Imara's encouragement Tony gets dressed. The pair head downstairs Imara helping him stay up right while he uses his teeth to tear open the plastic around his hand and take it off throwing it in the trash as they enter the kitchen. Tony opens the fridge and finds some Gatorade, yogurt, pudding and in the cupboards is crackers and broth which Tony takes an armful or leaving the broth for later and deposits them on the couch before going back to grab a cool pack which he slaps on his forehead relishing in the coolness. Supplies in position Tony grabs a couple blankets and pillows before making a nest on the couch which he buries himself in before turning on the TV and begin to eat and drink which makes him feel a little better but it was only in small amount or he risked throwing it all up. Three shows later the sound of the front door unlocking alerts Tony who looks over burying deeper into his cozy nest eyes narrowing in suspicion but when he sees Fury through the widening crack he relaxes back and returns to the TV where some kind of show was playing. Fury doesn't even say anything as he brings in the grocery bags which takes two trips and takes them to the kitchen where he begins putting things away and Tony watches him out of the corner of his eye , not afraid but still weary of what could happen. When he's done Fury joins him on the couch and in his hand he brings a few more pills which Tony takes with one of his drinks and soon he's fallen asleep on the couch. Fury replaces his cool pack before he retreats to a couch on the other side of the living room with his laptop and a bunch of papers and begins doing work checking on Tony every now and then to make sure he's comfortable and still breathing which might seem silly but Fury kept thinking the boy would breathe one last breath at any moment with the way he looked. Tony sleeps until dinner where Fury wakes him up and helps him to the dining table where he slumps in his chair enjoying the cold against him, it felt odd being cared for since the only one to do so was his mother and the staff when Howard was away but that was all still very limited. Tony takes the pills offered to him along with his drink Fury had brought with them from his couch stash and watches as Fury dishes up the soup into bowls and brings them to the table before going back for spoons and a drink of his own which Tony thinks might be booze which he usually didn't trust but he knew this man would be okay besides it's one small drink. Tony takes a small mouthful of soup like it could cause him harm but it's good and seems safe so Tony eats it taking his time but no worried it would suddenly disappear from him and it seemed to do well in his stomach. After a bowl of soup however Tony's stomach is like a rocky sea making him feel even worse and tired, Fury simply nods and Tony leaves the table and back up to his room where he lays down under the covers and hopes sleeping it off might work besides he already so tired. Tony wakes up super early the next morning feeling a million times better which was weird but he wasn't going to complain so he gets up to shower washing off the last of the grime from the fever and even some of his injuries looked better which was relieving to see. Freshly showered hair still dripping wet Tony ties the towel around his waist and walks back to his room closing the door behind him before locking it and moves over to his bag. Kneeling in front of the bag Tony digs around for something to wear finally deciding on a white tee with a pair of black tight joggers with white ties that hung down, after dressing Tony decides to finally put his things away where they should go at least for the time being. Clothes away in the dresser drawers and hung in the closet, Tony then lines his shoes up in the closet floor before moving onto the other items in his bag which were mostly little things he couldn't leave behind in the mansion when Jarvis took him to SHIELD without Howard knowing. He pulls out a photo album tucking it into a desk drawer, then sets his laptop on the desk along with his other tech, a tool kit gets put into a another drawer, bobby pins get put on the window sill, papers and a few other things get organized into the last of the drawers before he puts the bag away under the bed. He hears Fury call for him meaning he had probably made breakfast for them and is making sure Tony comes down to eat something and he probably had to take more meds or something along those lines. As Tony enters the kitchen he sees Fury give him a look probably relieved Tony's better now and he doesn't need to worry so much anymore but that won't happen since Fury will always be looking out for him which meant worrying about him too. Tony takes the offered plate of food which was toast, fruit, bacon and hash browns as well as the glass of juice offered to him and takes them to the table where he sits down and begins to pick at the food testing it still trapped in Howard's mind games which is going to take a long time to over come. Still after a few minutes Tony starts to eat more and before he's finished his plate Fury is done like normal and puts away his dishes and then goes to the door after the bell rings which makes Tony tense up going still before he slowly and quietly puts away his dishes. After putting the dishes away he moves to peek around the doorway to see what's going on since things seemed fine but you never know so he's a little surprised to see Phil come in brushing fresh snowflakes off his jacket before he takes off his coat and boots. Fury lets Phil go about which seemed to be sitting in one of the lounge chair by the fire place which was on most likely to warm up after being outside and goes to join him taking up another chair knowing Tony is most likely watching them observing and will join them as soon as he feels comfortable. Sure enough ten minutes later Tony wonders in and picks a corner of the couch to sit on, the closet to the stairs and kitchen area but is on his phone the whole time reading an interesting article he found online while he keeps a close eye and ear on the two men on the other side of the room. Tony enjoys the peace for a little while until the article gets boring and he closes the window noticing a missing text from a number he hasn't seen in a very long time, the number brought up bad memories as he deletes it without out even looking at it's context and locks his phone sliding it into his pocket. Tony instead watches the TV which Fury had turned on a while ago but listens to the conversation instead of actually watching the TV since he was sure that whatever the two men were talking about was more interesting than some show he's never seen. "I see you didn't bring your charges" Fury says legs crossed in his chair with his head resting on his closed fist "Yeah, I figured it was the wrong time for this" Phil said but he sounds guilty maybe "What do you mean?" Fury asks him "Well Tony's hurt and sick so being surrounded by strange teens wouldn't have helped and you know them, none of them came from good backgrounds and they were cautious of Tony to begin with" Phil explains which made sense "I see. Makes sense, good thinking" Fury agrees but he's thinking "I do feel a little bad about it though, Bruce had really wanted to come but I told him no" Phil says ending with a tired sigh "Even so the final call is from you and besides you can bring him over anytime, i'm sure Tony could use some socialization" Fury quips pointing a glance at Tony who rolls his eyes "I'm fine" Tony sniffs with a small pout "You bit the nurse and punched the doctor at the hospital" Fury says staring at the boy closed off "That's different" Tony argues "You have literally never been around anyone outside of that damn mansion before" Fury states which makes Tony curl up at the thought "So what?" Tony hisses with a glare "Nothing" Fury says as if it was nothing and turns back to his conversation with Phil Tony stalks off to sulk in his room where he pulls out his sketch pad along with his pens and coloring tools before he sits down in the desk chair and flips to a clean page where he begins to draw and design his latest idea. Tony draws for hours perfecting the designs and all the specs before he sits back and admires the pages in front of him where his two newest kids stare back at him waiting for him to bring them alive. Tony loves making robots and AI's and these two newest additions would be his best and he can't wait to bring them out of the paper and into the real world where they'll be their own people able to be just like humans. The drawing  Tony has done which he will turn into JOKASTA 

  


Tony's drawing which he will turn into FRIDAY

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter. also the first picture is Red Julia — BEYOND THE STARS by Yury Krylou and the second picture is Alice - BEYOND THE STARS by LimonTea.deviantart.com on @DeviantArt


	4. Tar

Over the next few weeks Tony heals slowly but keep occupied by gathering the materials he needs for the new Android's he's going to build which he does mostly over the internet and having them sent to a PO box where Fury picks them up and brings them back to an eager Tony who immediately brings them to his liar. Finally at the one month mark Tony has got everything he needs and is completely healed if you ignore the few stubborn spots that haven't healed yet, he's also gained weight and seems like a different person thanks to Fury who helps him with the programming Howard left him as well as making him social even if it's just over phone or computer. Fury also set him up with a therapist who calls him twice a week for sessions and his lawyer calls him maybe once a week to go over the case and everything else involved with that end.

Tony sits down on the floor of his room cross legged as he cracks his knuckles eyeing the floor ahead of him covered in parts, tools and other things that went along with making the small doll sized bots, his laptop hummed to his left side where it was working on the programs he just finished for each doll to be their own living growing AI. After cracking his neck Tony puts on his big cherry red glasses, ties up his bangs and slips on his black headphones as he reaches for the first tool and part and is swept into a meditative state as he slowly and carefully starts building the bots starting at the core and working outwards. He is easily lost in his work switching from programming to building for hours until finally Fury comes in the room and manages to get him out of the room to shower and eat which he does but it's slightly rushed eager to get back to work but Fury makes sure he eats enough and leaves with an armful of snacks and drinks before he heads back to his room. By then Tony has managed to finish the cores and has started the frame work which he plans to line with wires and other tech but for now frames needed to be done first to hold and support the cores. Tony sleeps for a few hours every couple days which wasn't un-usual for him but it was nice when Fury came to check on him and ask him about what he is doing, no one except Maria had done that, well maybe a few household staff but still it's been a long time since someone was interested in him.

After two weeks though Fury stopped his work binge which was okay now that the frame and body were just about done but was still annoying that he needed to stop when he was so close to being able to really see the progress in the two girl AI's. Monday morning at a very early time Fury had kicked him out of his room and threw a set of clothes at him and even a pair of shoes which Tony tried to catch but still one shoe made contact with his head. Tony whined the whole time but did shower and change into a pair of black ripped jeans, brown timberlands, a grey tee and a army green oversized hoodie; he hated tight fitting sweaters but it was also a habit he used to hide the abuse since the clothes would swallow him up hiding the marks. Showered and changed Fury gave him something to eat which was a toasted bagel with a side of bacon and a cup of coffee which Tony gulped down ignoring the burn it gave him, by the time Tony's on his third cup of coffee there is a knock on the front door. Tony wanders if that's the reason Fury had got him out of his room for but that seemed to be a bonus on Fury's part since Tony had gone two weeks and Fury wasn't quite okay with it since Tony was still getting better at the time. Curious and not worried about his father getting out Tony inches closer the the front door where Fury is standing talking to someone or some people by the sound of it but before he is out of the kitchen with his coffee cup in hand Fury's loud voice calling for him makes his jump sending the cup to the ground with a loud shaming sound as the cup breaks into little pieces. 

"Tony!" Fury calls looking back to the kitchen

"Eep!" A small squeak can be hear as a cup shatters on the ground out of sight

"Shit, Tony you okay?" Nick says coming closer so he could see what happened

"I'm s-s-sorry I'll clean it up right away" Tony says in panic reaching for the broken pieces of the cup

"Relax, it's fine. Did you get cut?" Fury asks picking up the rest of the pieces

"No i'm okay" Tony says quietly still looking at the floor as he wipes up the spilled coffee

"Come on, we're going out for a while" Fury says leading him to the front door where he hands Tony his jacket

"Why? Where are we going?" Tony asks putting on the short black parka with a fur lined hood and patches down the arms

"Christmas is soon and the city puts on a festival, today's opening day" Fury says putting on his own long black jacket this one wasn't leather instead wool

"I don't understand" Tony confesses head tilted to the side honestly

"I figured" Fury said but he has a small smile on his face

Tony gave the man a weird look but follows him outside where he sees two more black SUV's in the drive way, Phil stood beside one of the trucks and waved to Tony when he notices Tony looking at him. Tony turns to look at Fury confused but he simply pushes Tony toward the truck where Tony gives up trying to figure it out just gets in the vehicle with Fury and they join the other two trucks as they all drive off towards the middle of the city. The ride is quiet but always is with Fury but that was fine because Tony likes looking out the windows at the passing scenery as if were out of a winter fairy tail which Tony it probably was since he has very limited knowledge of the outside world at least without someone standing over him waiting to hurt him. Tony spots a wild rabbit at one point and sits up suddenly pressed against the glass in amazement when he turns to look at Fury child wonder in his eyes as he tells him about the rabbit excitedly, Fury smiles at him and listens to his every word. In the city Tony looks around at all the Christmas decorations that are hung all around them but didn't see much use to them, the staff back in the mansion decorated the same way but it was just for show since they never celebrated, the closet Tony had ever gotten to Christmas was being able to listen to his mother play piano as much as he wanted. 

Finally they park in a crowded parking lot a few blocks away from the actual festival since so many people attended it that there are many over flow parking lots, luckily they found one relatively close to the actual even instead of being farther away. Finally Tony realizes the extra truck was because Phil had brought all the kids he's looking after with him, all dressed for the cold weather and excited to go and see the festival which Tony still didn't understand all the excitement about it. Tony looks around slightly confused and notices one of the boys looking his way shyly and Tony recognizes him as Bruce and remembers when Phil told Fury that Bruce wanted to go see him. Bruce was dressed in dark jeans tucked into a pair of brown winter combat boots, a pale green turtle neck sweater which peeked through his dark navy winter jacket with a light brown fur lined hood. Tony was about to say something when he hears his name yelled from across the street and looks towards the voice and the sight makes his blood run cold as it freezes in his veins and his heart stops as he goes rigid and wide eyed. The boy across the street is older than Tony he's bigger too both in height and build, he's got pale skin with angry blue eyes and short styled dirty blonde hair; he's wearing a pair of dark jeans with dark dress boots, showing through the open grey winter wool pea-coat is a white long sleeve.

"Anthony!" Tiberius calls him his face was twisted in a nasty smirk 

"How?!" Tony whispers to himself face contoured in a hurt confusion 

"Tony?" Fury asks him coming up behind him

"I'll catch up later" Tony mutters after he flinches keeping his head down

Fury watches as Tony joins the older boy across the street who slings his arm around Tony's shoulder tightly whispering something in his ear before pulling him down the street. Tony tries to ignore the tight grip Ty is holding him in as he talks about how great he is and so on while Tony resists the urge to roll his eyes knowing that wouldn't go over well with Tiberius. Tiberius was someone Howard put in his life using Tony as a tool to get Tiberius's father into a deal with Howard, pawning off his son to Tiberius as some sort of promise once he was finally of age but Tony hadn't seen Ty in years. Ty was a cruel person and enjoyed toying with Tony in cruel jokes which usually ended with Tony bruised in one way or another, somehow Tony had figured he'd never see Ty again but that proved to be a mistake and simply a hopeful wish that didn't work. 

Ty suddenly takes a sharp turn pulling Tony into an alley away from prying eyes where he slams him up against the side of a brick building where he pins Tony a fist clenched tight to the front of his jacket and a sneer on his face as he glowers down at the younger boy. Tony looks down and to the side but glances up just a little to see that Ty is closer inches away from his face and is growling like a mad dog ready to attack at a seconds notice. Tony closes his eyes and takes carefully timed breathes as he listens to Ty's harsh breathing and growling and he can probably guess why he's so angry; the deal between their fathers fell through when Howard cheated other man and took back is prized gift and then Tony dropped off the map entirely. 

"I've been looking for you" Ty growled out low 

"I figured" Tony said his eyes watching the others carefully 

"Don't get smart with me bitch" Ty snarled getting in his face fully

"Get off me" Tony said glaring back just as hard

"Say it again" Ty dared him a sick smile growing on his face

"Get off me you slimy ass jockey" Tony said pointing out each word staring into the others eyes with unleashed hatred 

"Pompous bitch clown" Tony says before Ty can say anything

"Your really asking for it now you little sorry excuse of a promised bitch" Ty says and Tony can;t help the hurt that stabs him at the words

"I'm so sorry lord and master" Tony drawls darkly as stabs Ty in the thigh eyes never leaving the older

"You bitch" Ty breathes out in pain bent down to hold his wound

"Don't ever try to get me again" Tony says stabbing the other in the left shoulder leaving the small knife there

Tony doesn't wait for an answer instead he walks calmly back into the street like robot void of everything ignoring the slight blood splatter on his hand as he walks through the crowds looking for Fury on autopilot seeking out something he knew was safe. He finds Fury apart from the rest of the group looking at some sort of booth until he notices Tony approaching and gives him a calculating look which makes Tony blink and hide his hands behind him looking a little hurt. Fury doesn't say anything instead nods for him to follow as they rejoin the group and Tony acts as normal as he can but he still doesn't understand any of this and instead just follows the group around looking at a few things here and there but otherwise uninterested. At some point which Tony doesn't remember Bruce comes up to him and shyly asks him about science which Tony immediately continues and the two become lost in the subject coming out of their shells a bit as they talk about all sorts of science subjects and so on. They talk and walk until it's time to go their separate ways but not before swapping numbers and Bruce promises to come visit Tony and Tony saying he'll try whenever Fury goes into the city for work and brings Tony with him since he doesn't like to leave Tony alone as much as he can help it.

On the way home Fury asks him what happened as he hands Tony a wet cloth which he uses to wipes away the remaining hints of blood on his hands which he had managed to hide until now. Tony doesn't bother lying as he tells Fury the truth about what happened from the original reason he knew the other boy all the way to today when he stabbed him twice leaving him in an alley alive but hurt. Fury doesn't scold him instead seems to understand and leaves it at that changing the subject to what they should have for dinner tonight and how Tony's project was coming. Tony is thankful for Fury changing the subject and understanding what he did and why he did it but then again the man was in a violent field and has probably come across it before. At home Tony hangs up his jacket and puts his shoes away before sitting on the couch and turns on the TV to distract himself from what happened today as Imara ghosts into sight laying down on him as a comforting sign to say all was okay and that he wasn't alone, he would never be alone again. After dinner Tony goes up to his room and flops down face first on the bed as his tired eyes wander over to the unfinished bots on the ground but after a short battle with himself Tony turns his head away and closes his eyes falling asleep without even realizing it. 

A nightmare is what wakes him up at some ungodly hour in the morning quickly getting on all fours staring wide eyed at the wall ahead of him with unseeing eyes still glazed over with the nightmare fading away, Tony gulps down what feels like cement and licks his lips nervously as he sits back on bent knees. Tony takes a moment to breathe normally again before he slowly gets off the bed and sits down on the floor picking up the doll sized bots and a tool quickly losing himself in his work which starved all the nightmares where they lurked in the shadows of his mind unable to feed on his fear any longer. The small slivers of sun light that shine through the curtains lets Tony know it's a reasonably hour in the morning but he doesn't stop working desperate to keep working where he can't hurt himself anymore if you ignore all the burns and cuts on his hands from using tools and wires. Music blasted through his headphones muting the world around him completely while he works endlessly on his new project hopeful that this time it will work and live longer now that Howard wasn't around to destroy his children instead making him build and design weapons. The acid burn scares on his wrist send needles of pain into his body at the memory but most of his scars hurt at the littlest things so he's used to the feeling of pain that flows through him jumping from scar to scar connecting like constellations in the stars at night.

He doesn't blink or feel the pain as a sharp edge of metal slices open his finger again as he squeezes it too hard, instead he simply wipes the blood on his jeans and continues to build and everything around him goes numb again as if nothing exists outside this room and in his own mind space. Tony has already named to two female AI's the first is FRIDAY which was the day when his mother died in that car crash on some back road with no traffic so it took them awhile to find her, the police wrote it off as an accident but Tony knows better than to believe that. The second is JOKASTA after the story of a Greek queen who had a sad past and an even sadder ending but still she was grace and powerful never bending to anyone and stood against all the pain that the gods threw at her. FRIDAY has an Irish accent when she'll talk and a true spit fire or sass and vengeful comments, smart and quick as a whip who like swords and will learn as she ages and explores the web. JOKASTA will be quiet and mild mannered but hides her anger until it's too late to realize what's done, she has a soft almost unnoticeable Greek accent, a scholar in her own time and likes to use bows and arrows. 

It's another three days of nonstop working on them when Tony finally finishes them and unplugs them from the computer which was transferring the codes and programs into their cores so they could move but still be connected to everything technological. While the codes are transferred Tony takes some clothes and goes to shower, after which he changes into a pair of dark ripped jeans and a army green oversized long sleeve shirt. Once showered and changed Tony then opens the bathroom cabinets and pulls out a box of band-aids which he begins to place on the cuts he's acquired while working on the two AI's , once his hands are covered in band-aids Tony heads back to his room leaving the door open as he kneels down on one knee checking the progress. With a few minutes left Tony hears trucks in the drive way but doesn't move waiting eyes focused on the screen watching hundreds of lines of code move at the speed of sound reading each one like someone would read a paper book. Connected to the laptop by a cord to each AI's body by the back of their necks, you can see the illuminated 'veins' glowing and pulsing to each color, one is a hot pink while the other is a ice blue and all 'veins' lead to a small arc reactor in each ones chest which also glows. Tony doesn't care about the sound of the front door opening or the sounds of people coming in instead his sole focus is on the two lifeless bots on his floor hooked up to his laptop as he waits barley breathing for the progress bar to finish and the two will finally be real and not an idea anymore.

He's changed their clothes though FRIDAY has kept the smog mask and headphones on; FRIDAY wore black leather pants covered in dark grey armor, clunky black combat boots with dark grey leather straps over the laces, a black Ayyawear Leather Puma Vest, a gun metal grey hooded scarf. On her arms she was wearing black leather lace up arm guards and on her back she has on a gun metal grey sword sheath with two sections which carries a black KUKUREN katana in one side and a grey black SR-GR REAXIS32000 katana. As for JOKASTA she wearing a spandex nano armored black body suit with a deep V that connects to a collar around her neck where a charm hangs, the left leg is only partly covered and is instead covers by a grey and red exoskeleton leg armor, she's also wearing heeled ankle boots, a black archers hand guard, a white button up shirt tied half way and open. On her hips is slung a leg quiver attached to a large belt and across her back is a bow holster, in her quiver is an array of high tech arrows and in her holster is nestled a red and black Supercell compound bow.

Tony is too focused on the code moving on the screen he doesn't realize someone is behind him until JOKASTA snaps up into a one kneed crouch and has and arrow notched in her bow poised to shoot whoever has snuck up on her creator watching them with glowing ice blue eyes, FRIDAY is up too standing swords drawn her neon pink eyes narrowed at whoever was behind him. Tony turns looking behind him to find a very scared and confused Bruce Banner staring at the two AI's but Tony can see the underlining amazement in those brown eyes, another glance behind him shows that Clint's there too same expression and everything. Fury must have invited Phil and his gaggle of teens Tony decides since he doubts they could come in on their own without triggering one of Fury's many security precautions but still it was a surprise to see them here but he's so happy the two girls are alive and looking after him already.

"JOKASTA, FRIDAY it's okay" Tony says using his hand to lower their weapons but neither AI looked convinced

"Sorry, they're newborns they just woke up" Tony said closing the laptop lid and shoves it under the bed along with the cords

"What are they!?" Bruce breathes out astonished

"Dude what the fuck?! That's so cool!" Clint yells pushing Bruce to one side

"Um they're AI's. You know Artificial Intelligence" Tony says not used to positive attitudes towards his creations

"I've never seen anything so advance or human like" Bruce says kneeling down eyeing the girls

"Well of course not I wasn't able to finish before now" Tony said like it was nothing

"What do you mean?" Bruce asked amazed as the two AI's put away their weapons

"Well if my father hadn't broken everyone I made this would have been done years ago" Tony said looking down at FRIDAY whose tugging at his shirt

"Dude this is so cool" Clint squeals as Tony sets FRIDAY on his shoulder

"Is it?" Tony asked confused 

"Obviously" Clint said looking at Tony confused

"Tony what do you mean your dad broke them?" Bruce asked concern in his face

"Well every time I tried to give them bodies like this my dad would break them saying it was a waste of time" Tony shrugged as it was nothing

"What wasn't a waste of time?" Clint asks him confused 

"Building and designing weapons" Tony deadpanned unfazed 

"WHAT!?" Bruce and Clint shouted at the same time

"When I was about four he decided that I would do it all since as much as hated it I was smarter and better at it than him" Tony says with a shrug 

"Who are you?" Clint asks stone faced

"Tony Stark, son of Howard and Maria Stark" Tony says robotic

"Come we should go show these off" Clint says changing the subject with a smile

Tony just nods and lets JOKASTA get comfortable in his hand before he gets up and follows the other two boys down stairs where he sees the rest of the room hanging out in the living room, Fury and Phil were by the front window talking but stopped when Tony and the other two came down. 

"Tony what do you have?" Fury asks coming closer 

"This is FRIDAY and JOKASTA" Tony says pointing to each girl respectively 

"Those are so cool did you make them?" Natasha says reaching out to touch JOKASTA 

"I would prefer if you asked before you touch me" JOKASTA says standing up as she dodges the hand

"It moved" Steve says scared moving back

"It talked" Phil said at the same time surprised 

"FRIDAY and JOKASTA are androids slash AI's" Tony explains as FRIDAY jumps down into his other hand which he held out for her to stand on

"Isn't it amazing" Bruce says giddy in the same room as such amazing tech

"That's what you've been working on?" Fury asks him studying the girls 

"Yeah I just finished the download" Tony says smiling down at the two doll sized androids in his hand

"That's amazing" Natasha says studying the girls 

"How-What?" Steve says trying to wrap his head around it

"She has a bow!" Clint says just noticing the bow on JOKASTA's back

"Can you shows us?" Bucky asks the two girls as everyone gathers around for a closer look

"Go ahead" Tony tells them when they look at him for confirmation

FRIDAY goes first drawing the two swords from her back sheath showing them off before just holding them by her side as JOKASTA pulls out the compact bow from the back sheath and holds it out in front of her so everyone could see what it looks like.

"You made those too?" Phil asks admiring the weapons

"That was the easiest part" Tony says brows crinkling when everyone looks at him weird

"Um Tony maybe you should explain" Bruce says nervously 

"I made and designed most of Stark Industries weapons" Tony tells them unsure why they were surprised

"You made and designed weapons?" Phil asks knowing about the kind of weapons SI produces

"Well I can use them too" Tony said as if that would make it okay

"Tony how old were you when Howard made you do those things?" Fury asks him suddenly all business 

"Four maybe? Is that a bad thing?" Tony said scared and confused

"You're coming with me tomorrow to SHIELD so I can get everything on record" Fury says already moving away as he pulls out his phone

"Are you okay?" Natasha asks seeing a scar on his collar bone

"Yeah, that's old" Tony says looking at the dime sized scar where Howard had stuck a heated poker 

Before anything else could happen Fury interrupts them and says that they need to go to SHIELD now and that Tony's lawyer will be waiting for them there so they could talk along with his therapist. Tony simply puts on his jacket and shoes used to this kind of thing and heads to the truck while Fury says something to the group still inside the house, Tony takes the front passenger seat this time with the two androids in his lap as he puts on his seat belt. Fury isn't far behind and so they are on the road heading to the headquarters where Emma Snow and Matt Murdock were waiting for him, they'll take a meeting room and sit down while they go over everything including taking new pictures to take in all the scarring left behind to add to the photos taken each time he was taken from Howard. When they enter the building Tony is greeted by the two smiling adults, Emma gives him a hug when they're close enough before they head to the board room where they start asking question and so on. It takes hours before they're finished getting everything they needed and all the background information they could from Tony, the two AI's were with him the whole time holding his hand and being a solid comfort since he still didn't let Imara out much even more so when people were around.

Tony's drained in all aspects by the time he and Fury get back in the truck to head back home but doesn't want to fall asleep or won't fall asleep despite the way his body is currently craving for it but he knows all that's waiting for him are nightmares or memories he'd rather not deal with right now. Besides the way everyone was staring at him was burning a hold in his head adding more fuel to what will be new nightmares when he finally falls into the urge to close his eyes and hopes that he'll sleep the endless sea of nightmares that resist to stop until they drown him for good. Tony won't lie it won't be the first time he's hoped to close his eyes to never open them again and he's tried it before with help from Howard and on his own but still wakes up to a new day he has to struggle to survive in. Still when they get home Tony goes straight to his room closing the door behind him as he changes into some sleep clothes while the two AI's sit on the edge of the desk watching over him like guardian angels. Once he's changed Tony buries deep in the blankets unable to resist to stay awake any longer fully aware he's only going to hell one he can't escape and plagues him each night and thinking about what those weapons he made do, the look on everyone's face when he tells them things, Maria's ghost haunting him, Howard able to hurt him without any problems.

This dream is different is all black and red like a cave but under his feet is a black endless pit of tar which is slowly pulling him in and he can't get away no matter how hard he tries, his screams go unheard drowned out by the dark laughing which fills the room ans tar covered hands reach through the tar and grab hold on him pulling him. The finger carve wounds into him as he continues to scream and struggle against the hands and pit below him but nothing comes from it and as it reaches his collar bone Tony can feel his nails break as he claws at the ground around the pit. He doesn't sink any further stuck in the endless cycle of the hands clawing and pulling him down while they all laughed at his screams and tears, Tony can feel the tar pour down his throat now making him choke and gurgle unable to die stuck in that part of the dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone has any ideas on what you would like to see, comment them below and i'll try to add some of them


End file.
